September 13, 2023
As August wrapped up, RIA activity and independent activity remained strong. During this month, Dakota tracked a total of 56 transactions. (FA Moves 17, RIA Moves 12, Acquisitions 16, New RIAs 11)
With the departure of Andy Siege, former head of Bank of America Merrill Wealth Management, back in April of 2023, Merrill continues to see team and FA departures. LPL Financial remains to be one of the most attractive and will likely lead the charge the rest of the quarter.
Rogers Wealth Management (FA: Joshua Rogers) based in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL has joined Raymond James & Associates from previous Merrill Lynch. He oversees approximately $360m in AUM.
FA Richard “Dick” Donahue has rejoined LPL Financial’s BD/RIA platform. Donahue is based in Ferndale, WA and oversees approximately $100m in AUM. He was previously with the Carson Group.
FA Richard Barret Greer has joined Morgan Stanley from Merrill Lynch. Greer is based in Little Rock, AR and oversees approximately $140m in AUM.
FA duo Neal Rubin and John Geraghty have joined Wealth Enhancement Group bringing approximately $900m in AUM. The duo launched the first Las Vegas office for Wealth Enhancement Group.
Jonathan Spitalny has joined Wells Fargo Private Client Group. He is fresh off a six-year tenure at Stephens where he oversaw $286 million in AUM.
Jeffrey LeSage has joined Cerity Partners as Chief Talent Officer in the Park Ave, NY office. He was previously with KPMG and under his leadership helped raise their tax revenue from $1.4 billion to $3.0 billion.
Four Advisors (FAs: Ryan Shea, Seong “Sean” Hahn, Ejiro “EJ” Okuma, & Matthew Kooperman) with a combined $360 million in assets have joined Equitable Advisors. The advisors joined from Ameriprise, Edward Jones, Merrill Lynch and PNC Investments.
Advisor, Andrew Hayek, has joined LPL’s BD/RIA platform aligned with Bluestone Wealth Partners. Hayek previously was with JP Morgan Securities where he oversaw $165 million in assets.
Scott McCaffrey has joined Hilltop Securities Inc. aligned with Dallas-based Momentum Independent Network. Montgomery was previously with LPL where he spent 10 years.
Longtime Wells Fargo Advisor, David Lojpersberger, has left the firm to join UBS Wealth Management as Managing Director. Lojpersberger is set to oversee three offices in the Philadelphia Complex. (Conshohocken, Newton & Philadelphia)
Austin Philbin has been named the new Chief Operating Officer at Octagon Financial Services (OFS), a $1 billion RIA based out of McLean, VA. Philbin was previously the Chief Client Officer at Dynasty Financial Partners.
Merrill Lynch lifer, Michael Baggett, has left the firm to join Morgan Stanley in Pensacola, FL. Baggett oversees $180 million in assets.
Merrill Lynch lifer, Steven Clay, has left the firm to join Morgan Stanley in Pensacola, FL. Clay oversees $390 million in assets.
Burdette Park has joined Raymond James & Associates in Louisville, KY. Park was previously with Merrill Lynch where he oversaw approximately $300 million in assets.
Financial Advisors Kelly Durso and Thomas Fink have joined Osaic, formerly known as Advisor Group. Durso joins the New York office and Fink joins in the Tampa office. Both were previously at Goldman Sachs.
Modern Wealth Management has hired a trio (Shad Besikof, Danny Henneghan and Casey Harrison) to help build out its Mergers & Acquisitions team. Besikof arrives from Exencial Wealth Advisors, Henneghan arrives from First Republic Bank, and Harrison arrives from Goldman Sachs.
Financial Advisor trio (Greg Aikenn, Ben Blake, & Jonathan Bult) have joined Baird Wealth Management in the Salt City Lake office. The trio was previously with Zions Wealth Advisors and managed approximately $500 million in assets.
James, Ford & Duble Wealth Partners (FA: Bill James, Patrick Ford & Anastasia Duble) have joined RBC Wealth Management based in Columbus, Ohio. The trio was previously with UBS and oversaw $1.5 billion in AUM.
BG Wealth Management (FAs: Charlie Bergman & Justine Greenwald) have joined UBS Wealth Management in the Pepper Pike, OH office. The team was previously with Merril Lynch and oversaw approximately $640 million in assets.
Oryx Legacy Partners (FAs: Angela Mwanza, Jordan Powell, & Mimi Kuo-Chin Shih) has joined Rockefeller Capital Management located at its Rockefeller Plaza office. The team was previously with UBS Wealth Management under the name Evergreen Wealth Management.
The ESOP Group (FAs: Leslie Lauer, Rebecca Glasgow and Wayne “Curt” Rubinas) has joined RBC Wealth Management based in Atlanta. The team was previously with UBS Wealth Management.
Oswego Crest Financial Group (FAs: Patricia Sturr, Peter Miller, & Tom Daniels) has joined Steward Partners Global Advisory based in Lake Oswego, OR. The team was previously with Commonwealth Financial and oversaw $230 million in assets.
Watermark Wealth Management (FAs: Carmen Cercone, Aaron Gordon, Rich Liberante & Jake Cercone) has joined LPL’s BD/RIA platform based in Scottsdale, AZ.. The team was previously with Kestra Financial and oversaw $1.5 billion in AUM.
Latimer Wealth Management (FA: Ted Latimer), formerly known as The Latimer Group at Merrill Lynch, has joined Steward Partners Global Advisory. The team is based in Winter Park, FL and oversees approximately $175 million in assets.
Commerce Financial Advisors has joined LPL Financial’s Institution Services platform. Commerce Financial Advisors has nearly 30 FAs who serve approximately $4.7 billion in assets.
Summit Financial Group, LLC (FAs: Nathan Bennett & Steven Wilcox) have joined Raymond James from Securian Financial Services. Based out of San Ramon, CA Summit manages approximately $2.6 billion in client assets.
Groff Group (FAs: Matthew Groff, Brina McCarthy & Lee Henwood) have joined Morgan Stanley Private Wealth. Based out of Camp Hill, PA, the group manages approximately $603 million in client assets and was previously with Merrill Lynch.
Pendill Wealth Management (FAs: Nate Pendill & Benjamin “BJ” Pendill) managing $355 million in assets has joined Raymond James & Associates. The team was previously with Edward Jones.
Legacy Wealth Advisors, Inc (FAs: Kevin Loyd, Jeremy Spellmeyer & Calvin Keth) has joined LPL’s BD/RIA platform from Cetera. Legacy is based in Missouri and serves approximately $280 million in assets.
Waverly Advisors has acquired Silicon Hills Wealth Management, an Austin, TX-based RIA that manages $255m in AUM. The purchase is Waverly’s first transaction in the Southwest region.
Mercer Global Advisors has acquired Steward Wealth Management, a Texas-based RIA with $680m in AUM. This is Mercer’s seventh acquisition this year.
Mercer Global Advisors has acquired Private Asset Management, Inc, a San Diego-based RIA with $720m in AUM.
Integrated Partners has acquired Prism Financial Strategies, a Colorado-based RIA. The team is led by Managing Partner and Financial Strategist Jeff Engelman.
Kestra Financial has acquired Mission Financial Planners, a San-Antonio based RIA whose FAs oversee $120 million in assets. The team is led by Managing Members Kenneth Hamilton, Jason Duffaut, and Matt Donaghue.
Cetera Financial Group has acquired Powell Financial Partners, a Georgetown, TX-based RIA. Powell Financial Partners is led by father-daughter duo Mickey Powell and Jennifer Powell.
Sequoia Financial Group to acquire Massachusetts-based RIA, Affinia Financial Group overseeing $418 million in AUM. The acquisition is Sequoia’s third of the calendar year.
Wealth Enhancement Group (WEG) has acquired First Capital Advisors Group, a Blue Bell PA-based hybrid RIA. First Capital Advisors Group has $341 million in assets.
Hightower Advisors has acquired Washington-based RIA, Trellis Advisors, on behalf of Highland Private Wealth Management, based in Bellevue, WA. Trellis, with over $470 million in assets, raises Highland’s AUM to $1.9 billion.
Corient Private Wealth has acquired Garden City-based RIA, La Ferla Group. La Ferla Group has approximately $300 million in assets.
Creative Planning has acquired Minneapolis-based RIA, CTB Financial Services. CTB manages approximately $218 million in assets.
Avantax Wealth Management has acquired Scottsdale-based RIA, CFR Capital Group, with $120 million in assets. CFR was previously with Securities America. The Scottsdale-based firm has a total staff of 20.
Avantax Wealth Management has acquired Minneapolis-based RIA, Summit Wealth Advocates, with $330 million in assets.
Apollon Wealth Management has acquired Chicago-based RIA, Piershale Financial Group. The team is led by Michael Pieshale and manages approximately $264 million in assets.
Creative Planning has acquired Los Angeles-based RIA, Goldman Sachs Personal Financial Management Unit, formerly United Capital Financial Advisors. The terms of the deal are not expected to be available until the fourth quarter of this year. This acquisition will be one of the largest for Creative Planning.
Clayton, Dubilier & Rice has acquired New York-based RIA, Focus Financial Partners, with assistance from Stone Point Capital, for $7 billion. This acquisition has transitioned Focus Financial Partners from public to private.
An advisor trio (Mark Eberle, Mark Allison and Matt Tabler) overseeing $650m in AUM has joined LPL’s BD/RIA platform to form a new RIA, Pinnacle Private Wealth Advisors. They are based in Bellevue, WA and were previously with Morgan Stanley.
FA duo Kevin Hanley and Michael Sullivan have rejoined Morgan Stanley to launch a new RIA, The Sullivan Hanley Group. They are based in Lisle, IL and oversee approximately $2.4m in AUM.
Veritas Legacy Wealth (FAs: John Klein, Blake Bailey, Lavona Kuhn & Summer Rudder) have joined LPL’s BD/RIA based in Amarillo, TX. The team was previously with Merrill Lynch and oversaw $320 million in AUM.
Financial Advisor, Brendan Wood, has joined Linsco by LPL Financial to launch a new RIA, Wood Wealth Management of LPL Financial. Wood is based out of West Hartford, CT and oversees approximately $130 million in assets. He was previously with Merrill Lynch.
Comerica has launched a $3 billion Southern California Private Wealth Management Team with office locations in Costa Mesa and Century City. The Costa Mesa advisor team: John Coker, David Chavez, Matt Webber, Christopher Illiano, Teresa Tabel, Deon Holmes & Genesis Moreno under the leadership of Eric McMullen; and the Century City team: Sanjay Chugani, Maria Thieman, & Ryan Tunnell under the leadership of Mehdi Emrani.
Gibson Schuler Wealth Advisors, LLC (FAs: Colleen Schuler & John Gibson) have joined LPL’s BD/RIA based in Anne Arundel County, MD. The team was previously with Fulton Financial Advisors, part of Raymond James and oversaw $205 million in AUM.
Breakaway Wealth Management (FAs: Roger Relucio, Pasqualino “Pat” Ruffa, & David Kraus) based in Hoboken, NJ managing approximately $270 million in assets have joined LPL’s BD/RIA platform. The team was previously with Merrill Lynch.
Advisor Duo Kathleen Grace and Tabitha LeTourneau Meyerer have left Goldman Sachs Personal Financial Management to launch independent RIA, Fiduciary Family Office in Boca Raton, Fl. The duo manages roughly $500 million in assets.
FA Matthew Holbrook has joined LPL’s BD/RIA platform to launch Coastline Wealth Advisory based in Irvine, CA. Holbrook was previously at UnionBanc Investment Services where he reportedly oversaw $385 million in assets.
Financial Advisors Megan Stirrat and Tenley Hardt have joined LPL Financial to launch a new independent RIA, Revel Private Wealth. Based in San Juan Capistrano, CA the duo serves approximately $325 million in assets. Both Stirrat and Hardt join LPL from Merrill lynch.
Financial Advisors Steve Boeckmann and David Wyzgowski have joined LPL’s BD/RIA platform to launch a new Scottsdale, AZ-based independent RIA, BW Wealth Management. The duo stems from VALIC Financial Advisors and manage approximately $350 million in assets.
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John Washington is the Data Research Analyst at Dakota.
